Garmin released the new Varia eRTL615 which is a radar to detect vehicles behind you and rear tail light which plugs directly into many popular electric bikes to run right off the e-bike battery. What makes this smart light and radar special and who is it for? Let’s dig into it.
- Battery powered from your compatible e-bike
- Hard mounted to prevent theft
- Expensive compared to other Varia
- Lacking camera
Garmin Varia eRTL615 Electric Bike Radar Details
- Price: $299 without cables, $329 with cables
- E-Bike Compatibility: There are options to purchase with cables that will plug directly into your motor for Bosch, Shimano, and USB-A.
- Additional power supply cables: $30 if you want to be able to switch between bikes
- Light modes: continuous light mode, peloton, night flashing mode, day flashing mode
- Lumen: 20 in continuous light mode, 8 in peloton mode, 29 in night flashing mode, 65 in day flashing mode
- Power supply: 6 to 12 V DC, maximum 1.6 W
- Connectivity: ANT+®, BLE
- Degree of protection: IPX7
- Pairing: Pair with select Garmin devices, or your smartphone with the Garmin Varia or Ride with GPS apps.
Pros and Cons of the Garmin Varia eRTL615
I really have a confused take on this and hope that testing the unit will help shake things out for me. Is having a plugged-in version really worth the price?
The price and lack of a camera or brake light seem to make this brand-new light missing current technology. Until I have mine installed and tested I won’t be too hard on the light so here are my pros and cons for now!
Pros of the Garmin Varia eRTL615:
- No Charging Needed – this honestly is the only pro most people will need unless they are wanting the camera of the RCT715 (and you should be riding with a cycling camera!)
- Syncs with select Garmin, Wahoo, or your smartphone – Many people aren’t comfortable turning to look for cars, and that is what this device is used for. I also really appreciate their “heads up” app.
- Super Bright – Daytime running claims that it is visible up to 1 mile away but has 4 different light options.
- Movable – Have multiple e-bikes? Buy additional power supply cables and move the light quickly between bikes.
Cons of the Garmin Varia eRTL615:
- The Price – It is $100 (technically $130 with cable) more than the rechargeable Varia RTL515 and only $70 cheaper than the Varia RCT715 which has a built-in camera.
- Lack of Video Camera – I’m disappointed that this new model doesn’t have the bike dash camera like the Varia RCT715. Having constant power, radar, and a camera to document it all would have really pushed this into a unique class of smart bike tech.
- Lack of Brake Light – even a basic accelerometer-triggered brake light would have been nice
Who’s the Garmin Varia eRTL615 For?
The Garmin Varia has become a requirement for many cyclists that ride around cars. Being able to see that someone is behind you up to 150 yards away helps give folks a piece of mind and not be startled.
Now, I would argue a nice rear mirror can do some of this, but you may not want to be looking at that or like the aesthetics. The main reason I use the Varia is for the connection with My Bike Radar which will tell me how many vehicles passed me, where they passed me on a map, AND an estimate of their speed when passing me. Note: you need a compatible Garmin synced with a Varia for all this to work.
Buy a Garmin Varia
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$299.00
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- Battery powered from your compatible e-bike
- Hard mounted to prevent theft
- Expensive compared to other Varia
- Lacking camera
- Easy to Use
- Syncs with major GPS brands
- Dedicated app
- Lacking camera
- Lacking alarm function
- Very easy to steal
- Camera with OK footage
- Easy to Use
- Syncs with major GPS brands
- Dedicated app
- Larger size
- No built in alarm
- No front facing option
Any testing with this yet? I am thinking of moving away from my RCT715 now that I have an eBike, but don’t know if I’m ready to drop having a camera. Also, if this is hooked up to a Bosch Performance Line Speed and Purion setup, do I need to bring it to a shop to have them add the light feature? Lastly, how do lights attached to the motor affect battery life/range? Thanks!
Good Morning. So, any long term review on this. Just got a new ebike and thinking about selling my Garmin Headlight and Varia RCT715 to run integrated lights. I’m a little worried about losing the camera feature, and also how these might affect range. Any information on these would be great.
Hey Joseph, I wasn’t able to get one from Garmin and can’t justify the cost to take a step back without having a camera.
Thanks for getting back to me. Well, in general, how do most other front and rear lights affect range? Is it better to get a dynamo front hub system instead?
No, they pull so little energy, I would always use the e-bike powered lights if possible.